Achievements of ICT use in education

According to a study by the Milken Family Foundation, computers inside classrooms are more effective than centralized computer labs in producing basic skill gains in students and in promoting the confidence and technological competence of teachers.

Teachers who had computers in the classroom reported higher skill levels in delivering instruction, planning lessons, managing paperwork, and word processing, and more time using computers for reading, math and writing instruction than teachers whose access was limited to computer laboratories.

A synthesis of various research findings shows that computers in education facilitate:

• Less directive and more student-centered teaching
  
  
• Increased emphasis on individualized instruction
  
  
• More time engaged by teachers advising students
  
  
• Increased interest in teaching
  
  
• Interest in experimenting with emerging technology
  
  
• Teacher preferences for multiple technology utilization
  
  
• Increases administrator and teacher productivity
  
  
• Increased planning and collaboration with colleagues
  
  
• Rethinking and revision of curriculum and instructional strategies
  
  
• Greater participation in school and district restructuring efforts
  
  
• Business partnerships with schools to support technology
  
  
• Increased education involvement with community agencies
  
  
• Increases in teacher and administrator communication with parents

Further empirical research, as summarized in Technology in the Schools: It Does Make a Difference!, has shown a number of achievements related to the use of ICT in education:

• Students were found to score higher in standardized tests
  
  
• Students studying language arts in a multimedia environment gain more auditory, language, decoding-in-context, and story-composition skills than students who do not use computers
  
  
• High-school students were found to retain math skills longer after using commercially available mathematics software than did students in a control group receiving traditional classroom instruction
  
  
• A study of elementary-aged students learning math found that students who used multimedia computer software showed less math anxiety and more frequently perceived the subject as relevant to everyday life than students in a control group
  
  
• Another study found that technology improves students' communication skills and the quality of their presentations and makes it easier for them to complete writing and editing assignments
  
  
• Researchers analyzing how technology affects the study of science discovered that adding computerized lab analysis tools and simulations to high-school biology curricula led to significantly better content knowledge and science process skills
  
  
• Students who tend to refuse to do class work were found to be more motivated and eager to work since they do not perceive computers as an "authority figure"
  
  
• Especially "at risk" students were found to improve attitude and confidence towards learning
  
  
• Student with learning handicaps significantly improved their problem solving skills
  
  
• The use of telecommunications lead to students improve their writing skills
  
  
• Students showed increased mastery of vocational and work force skills
  
  
• Computer use facilitates student collaboration on projects and thus team working abilities that are indispensable in the work place